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Answers From Experts & Organizations (1)

A new study links sleep disorders and sexual impotency. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and erectile dysfunction. OSA afflicts more than 12 million Americans and is characterized by repeated stops and starts of breathing during sleep when throat muscles relax and block the airway. Left untreated, those with sleep apnea suffer from poor quality sleep and chronic sleep deprivation, leading to health issues that can be life-threatening: weight gain, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems.

The study found that:

Men with erectile dysfunction were more than twice as likely to have OSA than those without erectile dysfunction.

The more severe the erectile dysfunction, the greater the likelihood of having OSA

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